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2.1 Essential Oils and Aromatherapy

Aromatherapy is the art and science of enhancing health and well being with essential oils. Pure, unadulterated essential oils, extracted from the appropriate part of the plant are at the heart of the practice of aromatherapy. Essential oils connect us to the natural health-enhancing properties of plants. They are very versatile in their abilities to nurture, heal, support and rejuvenate body, mind and spirit. Because of their volatility and complex molecular nature, essential oils are easily absorbed directly into the body through the skin. When inhaled, transmission of the aroma is sent to the limbic system, which triggers neurochemicals that interact directly with the brain and thus affect emotion. Understanding the complex ways in which essential oils have been shown to affect the body is not necessary to using and enjoying essential oils. It is so easy to add a bit of scent to our lives everyday – after all we’ve been doing it for thousands of years.

While knowing its historical details isn't crucial to understanding either the art or science of aromatherapy, it does provide perspective, and credibility for you as a retailer. Most essential oils are used today as flavorings in foods and beverages, fragrance in perfumes, body care and cleaning products. Less than 5% of all essential oils are used in aromatherapy.

The appreciation and use of plants for their pleasing aromas has probably been an important part of human life since the start of civilization. Scented ointments, powders, waters, oils and incense were part of ancient worship, medicine and culture in Egypt, India, China and other early cultures. The use of exotic plants with sensual, heady and intoxicating scents was in great demand by the rich and the powerful. Always in search of more, their obtainment played a significant role in the establishment of trade routes and the political and social changes that followed. Healing aromatic salves and ointments, fragrant body powders and perfumes, burning resins and incense to please the deities and aromatic oils for anointing or soothing and perfuming the skin were all different aspects of the mysterious powers of scent – the essence or “soul” of the plant.

No one knows when and where the first essential oils were distilled from plants. While credit is sometimes given to Avicenna (980-1037), an Arab alchemist who used essential oils extensively and who greatly improved the process, distillation was invented centuries earlier. A simple clay still dated at around 2000 BC was found in Afghanistan and another of similar design from 3000 BC was discovered in Pakistan. Cuneiform tablets from 12 the century B.C. Mesopotamia describe vessels that are similar in design to later Arabian stills. Even if distillation of essential oils was discovered century B.C, they were a rarity until sometime in the first century A.D.

The scientific revolution of the 1800’s had a profound effect on the uses of plant scents. The ability of scientists to identify and isolate the many components of plants and essential oils led to the invention of synthetic substances. The first synthetic fragrance (coumarin) was produced in 1868 and was followed up by synthetic versions of other popular fragrances such as musk and violet. These synthetic fragrance substances made scent widely available to the masses and made it economical to add artificial fragrance to anything and everything – from soaps and shampoos to food and beverages. However, these new manufactured scents lacked the whole-plant essences and true aromatherapy power of essential oils. The subtleties of artful use of plant scents were obscured by the flood of new artificial fragrances from aroma chemists.

Modern Aromatherapy

The term aromatherapy was coined in 1928 by Rene-Maurice Gattefosse, a French scientist whose interest in the healing properties of essential oils was sparked by his remarkable experience with lavender oil. An explosion in the laboratory of his family’s perfumery business burned his hands—which he then plunged into a vat of lavender essential oil. His quick recovery from his burns with no scarring stimulated his research into the antiseptic and skin healing properties of oils. Dr. Jean Valnet, a WW II surgeon, was inspired by Gottefosse’s work and began using essential oils to treat battle wounds. He later found essential oils were also helpful treating psychiatric patients. His book, published in 1964, Aromatherapie and its English translation The Practice of Aromatherapy inspired the modern aromatherapy movement in Europe. Another aromatherapy pioneer was the Austrian-born biochemist, Madame Marguerite Maury who set up the first aromatherapy clinics in France, Switzerland and England and introduced the concept of aromatherapy massage. Her studies on the rejuvenating properties of essential oils were published in 1964 in The Secret of Life and Youth. Today aromatherapy as a disciplined healing art has swept the world, bringing another safe and natural approach to the support of health, healing and well being.

Review Questions Section 2

1. What is aromatherapy?

2. Describe some of the ways aromatic plants and fragrances were used in ancient times.

3. Who invented the modern still?

4. Who coined the term aromatherapy?   How did he become interested in the healing properties of essential oil?

5. Who was Dr. Jean Valnet?

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